When Lew Wallace was appointed Territorial Governor of New Mexico in 1879 one of the first missions he hoped to accomplish was to stop the killings...
The Lincoln County War: Armistice Gone Bad
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Billy the Kid
Billy the Kid Still Dominates
Bonhams sets a record with the sale of Pat Garrett’s Colt used to kill the notorious outlaw. Outlaws and lawmen got away with the big money at...
A Final Gift Pat Garrett gave a grave to his friend Ash Upson.
Ash Upson is best known as the ghost writer for at least part of The Authentic Life of Billy the Kid—ostensibly authored by Pat Garret. The two...
Did Billy the Kid and Jesse Evans Ever Have a Showdown?
They didn’t really “have it out” but they rode together briefly and later were on opposite sides in the Lincoln County War. The Kid might have been...
Last Words For two notables, “Hello, Bob” proved ominous.
Two men, famous in their own times and in their own ways. United in an important way. Bob Ford, gunned down by Ed O’Kelley (photo) on June 8, 1892...
The Trails and Tales of the Old West Go on Forever
What event marked the end of the Old West? Daniel Proctor (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) That’s hard to say precisely because the Old West covered...
The Kid’s First Kill
By Bob Boze Bell (based on the research of Fred Nolan & Jerry Weddle) Henry Antrim vs. Windy Cahill “I...called him a pimp.” August 17,...
Bowery Boy to Billy the Kid
Scholars uncover answers and create more questions on the outlaw’s life and family from New York to New Mexico. This past year has been a watershed...
Billy the Kid and the Apaches
The audacious outlaw fought and raided his rival renegades without retribution. All images courtesy True West Archives unless otherwise noted ...
The West’s First Preservationist Will Surprise You
In Lincoln County, New Mexico, the name John Tunstall is as famous as his hired gun, Billy the Kid. His ambition, his capitalistic competition, his...
Here’s Looking at You, Kid
The Class of 2021 has turned in their research and—boy, howdy—there are some eyebrow-raisers here. When I was first diving deep into all the Billy...
Feed the Dog An unusual explanation for being heavily armed.
Robert Widenman was a New Mexico deputy US marshal—and an associate of Billy the Kid and the Regulators during the Lincoln County War. He was...